Apple Fritters

I’ve been so into donuts lately. Every time I go out of town, I have to go to the new donut shop and try something. I tend to buy at least 3 or 4, take a bite and share them with my friends. I go through phases of making them at home too although I haven’t made any lately.

If there’s one thing I haven’t tried to make, it’s the apple fritter. It always seems so intimating and time consuming to make, but when I saw this recipe, I was inspired to try it. It could have also been the mouth-watering photos!

Putting them together seemed like a comedy of errors, but in the end, the fritters were delicious! I had to take them to my friend’s house so I wouldn’t eat them all myself!

Apple Fritters

Ingredients

for the apple filling

2 1/2pounds(about 5 whole) Granny Smith apples, or whatever you have on hand

3tablespoonsunsalted butter

2teaspoonscinnamon

¼cupsugar

4tablespoonsapple cider vinegar

for the dough

1packet of active dry yeast(2 1/4 teaspoons)

3 ¼cupsunbleached all-purpose flour

1/3cupsugar

1teaspoonsalt

½teaspooncinnamon

½cupwhole milk

2large eggs, lightly beaten

1/3cupunsalted butter, softened

for the glaze

1 ½cupspowdered sugar

3to 4 tablespoons milk

1teaspoonvanilla extract

Instruction

prepare the apples

Core, peel and chop apples into small pieces. Submerge them in ice cold water with 2 teaspoons of lemon juice to prevent them from browning. Set aside or refrigerate (for up to 24 hours) until ready to use.

make the dough

Whisk together the yeast, 3 cups of the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in the bowl of a stand mixer. With a dough hook and the mixer on low speed, mix in the milk followed by the eggs. Continue mixing until the dough gathers into a ball around dough hook, 2 to 4 minutes.

Continue mixing the dough, and add in the butter one tablespoon at time. Allow each tablespoon of butter to combine into the dough before adding another. If dough starts to fall away from the dough hook, add the remaining ¼ cup of flour 1 tablespoon at a time until dough comes back together before adding in next butter piece.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.

Make the apple filling: Heat the butter for the filling in a skillet over medium-high heat until butter turns brown and smells nutty. Drain the apples and add them to the pan with the butter. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, and cook until tender. Add in vinegar and cook until liquid is reduced by half. Set aside to cool.

assemble the fritters

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a ½ inch thick rectangle. Starting from the end closest to your body, scatter ¾ of the apples over the surface of the dough then roll it up in a long tube.

Now rotate the tube of dough so that it's perpendicular to your body. Flatten the tube slightly, then scatter the remaining apples over the surface. Roll up the tube like a snail's shell — the finished dough will look like a large ball.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the apple-filled dough ball to a ½ thick rectangle. Some apples may pop out — don't worry if they do, just set them aside and pop them back in where you can. Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 2 ½ inch squares to make 12 fritters. Use your hand to and pull the four corners of each square towards the center. Again, don't worry about any apples falling out or if they are exposed. Pinch dough together if necessary to create a rough circle.

Place the shaped fritters on a parchment-lined baking sheet and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for about 30 minutes or until the fritters puff and almost double in size

make the glaze

Sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Stir in the milk and vanilla until smooth. Set aside; warm in the microwave in 10 second bursts if the glaze starts to harden.

deep fry the fritters: Heat 6 to 7 inches of oil to 360°F a large Dutch oven, or a deep fryer if you have one. Meanwhile, line a wire rack with paper towels.

Carefully lower 3 to 4 fritters into the hot oil. Fritters will float and not sink. Fry on one side for 30 to 60 seconds or until golden brown, then flip the fritter and fry the other side for 30 to 60 seconds until golden brown. Remove fritter with a spider or slotted spoon, and drain on prepared wire rack. Repeat with the remaining fritters. (Between batches, make sure the oil temperature returns to 360°F and remove any floating pieces of dough or apples.)